I blame Twitter for this app. I honestly do. As anyone who knows me in real life will know, I live off Diet Coke. It's not uncommon for me to have to go find a Diet to get ride of a migraine or just because I'm getting antsy and want one. I'm officially addicted. Like hardcore addicted. If I forget one with my work lunch then I'll dash over to the gas station next store to grab a fountain Diet, my budget bates this. Consequently, I also don't drink a lot of water because I live off Diet Coke. This is a bit of a problem when I go to work out.

So when I started seeing some Twitter accounts complain about how they feel pressure to drink water during the day so the plants don't die I knew I had to give it a shot. Which I now deeply regret.....

I have my Plant Nanny set to my WiiFit weight and Regular as my activity level. I picked Regular because working at a desk job means I sit most of the day. My daily activity doesn't compare to someone on their feet all day, every day so I figured Regular fit better than Active. The third option for Activity Level is Sedentary which I know I don't qualify for. Once you select your weight and activity level the app tells you how much water you need to drink. My water level is currently 74 oz which is way more than I typically drink in a day. Another feature of the app is Drinking Reminders which will send you alerts throughout the day reminding you to drink. I've currently got my reminders set at every 4 hours, which I honestly disregard because I ignore every alert my phone sends.

You set your water bottle level and can set multiples in case you switch between glasses throughout the day. I currently have an 8oz glass and a 24oz glass because those are the two sizes I typically drink from during the day. Adding a new glass is as simple as tapping your screen a few times and is easy enough to do on the go. As you drink you press the screen on the water icon for a few moments and it records your drink. The more you drink, the more your plant grows! Once the plant matures your can plant it in your garden and select a new seed to start.

My little Devil's Ivy in Plant Nanny

Overall, I like using Plant Nanny to track my water intake. The app isn't complicated or annoying, but is still motivating. I have noticed myself making an effort to drink more simply because I want to get a whole garden of different plants. I actually get up in the morning and start drinking water as opposed to finding whatever juice or sweet drink I have in the fridge! Plus my caffeine consumption is much lower than it has been in years, I've gotten really good at only having a Diet Coke with my lunch as opposed to several times a day.

I would highly recommend downloading Plant Nanny to anyone who is looking to drink more water during the day!
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I once again failed to get myself up this morning for an early run. So I set my daily plan for a run after I was done working with Cupid.

My whole "don't snack at work" thing is going super well....

When I got to the barn after work it was extremely hot out and Cupid had already been turned out. As always she was wonderful about coming up to me but it was clear that she would rather stay outside to graze. I got her groomed and as I was putting the saddle on I realized that I really didn't want to ride but I knew I had to work with her since she was being super willing. I ended up doing a groundwork session which we haven't done in awhile. I asked her to walk over a saddle pad on the ground, which caused no reaction even when I picked it up, shook it around, and threw it on her back and neck. She stepped up on a step with very little encouragement, then backed off it without questioning me. Then we went into the arena and worked on our walking, trotting, backing up, and lateral movements in hand. She was amazing about respecting my space and listening to me. When we were trotting she happily followed me over a small cross rail then backed up between some poles on the ground. I am extremely proud that she remembered our work from a few weeks ago!

Once I got home I changed for my run and headed out, after first figuring out plans for tomorrow with my mom. My plan was to run to a school near my house and do some speed work. The first segment of my run was .59 miles and I maintained a 10'10" pace without feeling too winded. When I got to the school I set my water down, stretched, then started my "speed" work.

Fitbit stats from my run to the school

I started at the nearest island then jogged on the right side to the second island, between the second and third I sprinted, then I jogged to the fourth, from the fourth I walked around the island then did the same in reverse. I was able to do 5 of these which hit my goal of 10 sprints today! From there I picked up my water, stretched, then jogged home using the long way for a total of 2.21 miles. My fitbit recorded the run as a 11'11" pace which I don't think is too shabby!

My parking lot for speed work

On my run I stopped at my mailbox and as I was getting my mail noticed a little cat. He was super friendly and followed me to my house with some encouragement, but didn't want the food I offered him. After sitting with him for a bit, because he wouldn't let me pick him up to bring him inside, he dashed away into some bushes. I posted him on the Nextdoor app for my neighborhood but everyone seems to think he's an outdoor cat that belongs to a neighbor. I honestly don't know what I'll do if I see him again, it kills me to see a cat like this outside. He's too friendly to not have a family.

The little kitty I tried making friends with

5:30am. My alarm goes off. I peek outside and see it's still dark. Roll over and go back to sleep for another hour. This whole getting back into running and dedicating myself to training is going super well! On one hand I need to suck it up and go run despite the darkness, on the other hand I should probably get my community gym card activated and go use the fitness centers. If it wasn't the rainy season, with thunder, I feel like this wouldn't be an issue.

After deciding that the run was not going to happen this morning, thanks to needing to go do Paralegal things, I got up and immediately got yelled at by the cats. Apparently having all their food on the mat as opposed to in their bowls is a crisis. Tweedles, if you didn't shove all the food out of the bowl then we wouldn't have this issue!

You've got food Bailey. Stop yelling at me!

Once I was done with everything on my to-do list at work for the day I headed over to the barn. The drive there kills me, it takes an hour and the drivers are insane. At least once every drive I'm cut off with very little clearance or tailgated by someone who could easily pass me. But it's worth it for the pony therapy time, and getting to make sure she's doing alright. Because it was extremely hot and humid today I didn't want to work her too hard. The dressage ring is used for turnout so I can't ride in it at night, and no one has mowed the jump field in a few weeks so I don't feel comfortable working patterns. We just did a few laps at the walk while asking for her to go long and low, trot work while asking for a frame and lengthening/collection, and a few laps of the canter focusing on our turns and staying balanced. Our work at the trot needs a lot of practice but Cupid works so hard to do what I ask and it's amazing to see how far she's come since our first ride last year.

After our ride, I gave her a bath including working on getting her used to having her face wet. Because I think she expects me to aim the water up her nose and in her ears I'm currently using the mist setting on the hose. Once she's comfortable with the mist setting I plan on using a light trickle on her cheeks and possibly the center of her forehead. So far she allows me to mist her face but doesn't look thrilled. She has started to play with the hose and take drinks when I offer it to her, it's this little action that lets me know she's getting more comfortable with the wash rack.

I got home after the barn and wanted nothing more than to skip my run. It was still hot and humid, and I'm super lazy. After going through various stages of bargaining, including offering to reward myself with chips and salsa, I got myself off my floor and went for my run. The plan was to just run as much as I was comfortable with. I'm not starting my official 10k plan for another few weeks so I just want to get myself to a steady 3 mile pace that's hopefully under 11:00 minutes per mile. As always my times aren't good by any standards but they're something I can do and I can only improve from here. I settled into an easy 1 mile run which resulted in an 11'24" pace. Once I finished my mile I continued for a little more just to get myself closer to my house. Overall, I feel good with myself. I got out for a run even when I didn't want to and I didn't talk a walk break until I got to my cool down starting spot.

If anyone has any suggestions for how to keep myself from getting a stitch in my side when I run in the humidity I would love you forever! 

I got home from the barn. Quickly changed from my breeches to running shorts. Dashed downstairs and put on my running shoes. Just as I was locking my front door it started to pour. If it weren't for the thunder I would be trying to get a quick 3 miles in. The lifeguard in me still tells me to stay inside during thunder. So now I'm sitting on my couch, watching Netflix, and eating leftovers from last night. Yay Florida life....

On the bright side, the rain is pretty to listen to and I do need to write as opposed to my usual say I'll write and walk away.

In an effort to start keeping up with this, I'm going to try and set a few days for regular posts. Everything else will be a fun extra that I'll write as I think of it (or say I will, write it halfway then walk away). One of these regular days will be Wednesday since it's mid-week and I'm usually settled into my work week at this point. Because I'm super creative these posts will be labeled "What's Up Wednesday?" and will try to cover anything that's going on in my life. The plan will be to segment these posts into four sections: Run, Ride, Read, and Repeat. The first three sections are exactly as they sound, and the fourth section, Repeat, will be for anything else that's going on in my life.

So without further blabbering, let's begin the first "What's Up Wednesday?'!

Run
I stopped running. After the Star Wars Half Weekend I took time off to let my foot heal and didn't really start once I felt better. A few weeks ago I went and did three different runs to see where I was at in my baseline fitness. The first was on June 4th and I did a mile in a run/walk pattern, this was done in 11'01". The second was June 6th and I decided to do an easy mile without walking. This was the first time I've ever run a mile without walking since high school and I'm proud to say that I was able to complete it in 10'56"! The third run was 2.5 miles, on June 9th, at an 11'27" pace. For this run I did end up doing a run/walk pattern and I really don't have an excuse as to why I decided to not slow down and run the whole thing.

My goal is to run a 10k this fall without walking (other than water stops) which means I'll have to put in substantial training. I am currently planning on running the Celebration Rotary Club's 19th Annual Pancake Run on October 28th. My ultimate goal would be to do the 10k in under an hour, but for right now I plan on beating my PR of 1:14:46. I know I have it in me to PR, I just need to take this training seriously and make sure to run enough races before so that I'm ready to really rock it.


Ride
Cupid is doing well. We showed at the Sumter Equestrian Center in their May Hunter/Jumper/Dressage Show and did fairly well. I am in the process of finishing this recap so you should see that in more detail at a later date.

Currently, Cue and I are working on our flat work. I've started to ask her to use her hind end more and she is responding beautifully. We have plenty of moments where she is clearly confused but she attempts to respond to me and it's those attempts that make me appreciate how good of a mind she has.

The biggest news I have regarding Cupid is our upcoming move. On July 1st, Cupid and I will no longer be training with our current trainer or boarding at our current barn. I made the decision back in May to move out to the West side of Orlando for several different reasons. The main reason being that I want to have access to trails and would like to be at a property that does not flood. If you follow me on Twitter then you have seen my complaints about the current barn flooding. It will be nice to be at a place that was build uphill and has better drainage.

Read
If you follow me on Goodreads you'll see that I have been binge reading The Saddle Club series. As a joke I picked up the first book because I had read about how bad the horsemanship is. This has turned into me laughing over the writing and horsemanship, while appreciating that these are great books for the horse crazy child. When I wasn't able to ride these books let me maintain my love for horses

I'm also reading Little Women again. A few years ago I decided to start the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge and this is one of the books on the list. I'm in no hurry to complete the challenge, I just would like to do so before I turn 30. Since Little Women is one of the longer books it makes sense to read it with ample time to finish.

Repeat
Last weekend I had my second concert with the CFCArts Orchestra, American Roadtrip. This stands as the concert I am most proud of. The music was challenging yet the entire orchestra, including myself, rose to the challenge and put on an amazing show! Manager attended one of the performances and stated that it was his favorite one yet. Our next concert is ¡Fiesta! and will be on November 3rd and 4th. I can't wait to challenge myself further and perform with the orchestra again!